Wednesday, 11 February 2009

The A-Z of F13

A is for AGAIN? Platinum Dunes’ remake of Friday the 13th opens worldwide this week, and producer Brad Fuller is already hoping there’ll be a sequel, according to ShockTillYouDrop.com.

B is for BLOGS. Stay up-to-date with the latest F13th news with the Friday the 13th Blog and Scab’s Friday the 13th Horror Blog.

C is for CRAZY RALPH, of whom no mention is made on the cast list of the new remake, suggesting the character won’t be resurrected. The original gloomy caretaker was played by Austrian-born actor Walk Gorney, who died in 2004 aged 91.

D is for DEREK MEARS. Previous horror credits for the stuntman/actor behind Jason’s latest incarnation include playing Chameleon in The Hills Have Eyes II, a werewolf in Wes Craven’s Cursed, and the Devil in John Carpenter’s Masters of Horror episode, Pro-Life.

E is for EXTENDED CUT. According to remake producer Andrew Form, interviewed at Fangoria.com, “there were a couple of story points cut out of the movie that will appear in the extended version [on DVD] and maybe a little bit more violence and nudity. There’s one story point, a big thing that happens in the extended cut, that doesn’t occur in the [theatrical] movie.”

F is for FREDDY VS. JASON, the only previous screenwriting credit of Friday the 13th remake writers Damian Shannon and Mark Swift.

G is for GORE, without which no Friday film would be complete. The latest instalment is set to feature death by machete, screwdriver, arrow, poker, bear trap and campfire, amongst other methods.

H is for HARRY MANFREDINI, who scored the original Friday the 13thand voices the classic “Ki ki ki, ma ma ma” musical sting. His other sinister scores include The Hills Have Eyes Part II, Swamp Thing, Cameron’s Closet, DeepStar Six and all four House movies.

I is for “IN MEMORIAM”, Benevolent Street’s excellent profile of 12 actors connected with the F13th series who are no longer with us.

J is for JARED PEDALECKI, star of the new remake, who likes cheeseburgers, chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, The Great Gatsby, Good Will Hunting, Our Lady Peace, dogs, and wearing hoodies.

K is for KILLS, of which Jason has notched up an impressive 146, prior to his latest outing.

L is for LAKE. The real-life Camp Crystal Lake, where the original Friday the 13th was shot, is actually Camp Nobebosco, located at 11 Sand Pond Road, Blairstown, New Jersey. The new movie was filmed entirely in Texas.

M is for MRS. JASON VOORHIES Well, who did you think made Jason’s packed lunch in the mornings? And check out that natty purse.

N is for NANA VISITOR, perhaps best-known as Major Kira in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, who takes over from Betsy Palmer to play Pamela Voorhies, Jason’s murderous mother, in the remake.

O is for OPENING WEEKEND. This year’s Friday the 13th will be the fifth in the series to have an actual Friday the 13th release. Previous entries that took advantage of the date were parts 3, 4, 7 and 9.

P is for PARASKAVEDEKATRIAPHOBIA, the medical name for the fear of Friday the 13th, which is unpronounceable but scores highly in Scrabble.

Q is for QUINT, the roving reporter from Ain’t It Cool News, who writes of the remake: “end of the day it’s a fun Jason flick and one that pays enough homage to not warrant pitchforks and torches. They essentially cram the first 3 movies into one, but it works for the purposes of this story.”

R is for ROLE-REVERSAL. Back in 1980, Paramount released Friday the 13th in America, with Warner distributing the film abroad. This year’s remake will be handled by Warner (as New Line) in the US, with Paramount taking charge around the rest of the world.

S is for SPOILERS courtesy of the British Board of Film Classification, whose consumer advice for the upcoming Friday warns: “In one scene, a woman tied up in a sleeping bag is hung upside down over a campfire so that her head starts burning before the rest of her catches fire. While she screams and burns in the background, a man in the foreground is screaming because his foot is caught in a large iron trap with clawed jaws which dig deep into the increasingly bloody wound before the killer plunges a machete into the man’s head.”

T is for TRAILER, which can be viewed at Yahoo! Movies.

U is for ÜBER-JASON, the masked killer’s futuristic incarnation featured in Jason X, who features nanotechnology-enhanced metallic skin.

V is for a surprisingly nasty and funny VIRAL VIDEO promo for the new remake, featuring an ill-fated camper at Crystal Lake and a chance to scare your friends.

W is for WILLA FORD. The young actress who stars as Chelsea in the upcoming remake is previously best known for portraying tragic model Anna Nicole Smith in the 2007 biopic Anna Nicole (which was, coincidentally, also scored by Harry Manfredini).

X is for X CERTIFICATE, the rating awarded by the BBFC when the original Friday the 13th was submitted for classification on 8 May 1980. The MPAA gave the film an R rating.

Z is for ZOOMING. The recent Blu-Ray and DVD releases of Friday the 13th feature a reframed and zoomed-in image – at least in the US. It’s not known whether or not the new region 2 versions will be similarly altered.

That was very funny and insightful, Ross. Good job. Also, I absolutely love the trailer for that film, even if it does include the greatest parts. Whatever gets people to see it, I guess. Oh, I also screened this last night and posted a review of it earlier.